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Cerebrate
|game=SC1 |race=Zerg |image= Cerebrate Sc1 HeadAnim1.gif|SC1 Zasz SCR HeadAnim.gif|SCR Zasz Cartooned Portrait1.gif|Cartooned |imgsize=200px |imgdesc= |image2= Cerebrate SC1 Game1.png|SC1 Cerebrate SCR Game1.png|SCR Cerebrate Cartooned Game1.JPG|Cartooned |imgsize2=200px |imgdesc2= |faction= Zerg Swarm (formerly) Renegade Zerg (defunct) New Swarm (defunct) |campname=''The Fall'' The Stand The Iron Fist |baseunit= |role=Brood commanders |useguns= |usearmor= |hp=1500 |shield= |energy= |timedlife= |size=Large |type= |armortype= |trans= |costmin= |costgas= |supply=Generates 30 |time= |produced= |req= |hotkey= |groundattack= |airattack= |cooldown= |armor=1 |speed= |range= |sight= |detect=Yes |parent= |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |structure=x |hero= |campaign= |npc=x |cancel= |nocat= |concatbott=x }} Cerebrates were zerg brood leaders. They were originally created by the Overmind as intermediate commanders but were removed from the Swarm's power structure by the Queen of Blades. Overview Role in the Swarm Cerebrates were descended from the original zerg parasites of Zerus that existed before the coming of the xel'naga, albeit being much larger and endowed with much greater intelligence. Upon their creation by the Overmind each cerebrate and the brood it led was given a specific role which in turn shaped the cerebrate's rudimentary personality. Cerebrates further expanded the zerg hierarchy and came to rely on queens to oversee hive activity and overlords to relay commands to and directly control the brood's minions.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. While the rigid hierarchy ensured efficiency the permanent death of a cerebrate could induce a complete reversal. Broods that lost their cerebrate frequently became uncontrollably destructive.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Culling (in English). 1998. Cerebrates also oversaw the evolution of the Swarm.Neilson, Micky. "StarCraft: Hybrid." Amazing Stories 601 (Spring 2000): 70-75.Dayton, Cameron. "Broken Wide." (March 5, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Broken Wide Accessed 2010-03-05. Externally, cerebrates appeared as giant, bloated slug-larvae with numerous purple limbs protruding from the sides. This was merely their external form, and the true form of a cerebrate (a ball of yellow light with extruding tentacles) would only be revealed once the carapace had been destroyed. That being said, the flesh could be regenerated as long as the Overmind willed it, bar abilities that nullified such an ability.Rosenberg, Aaron (May 23, 2006). StarCraft: Queen of Blades. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7133-6. Not long before the Great War, the Overmind began to rely on its cerebrates to a greater extent than it had done previously. They were, at this point, distinct beings, within a unified hive species.StarCraft Remastered, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2017-03-31 Psionic Powers Cerebrates were often (perhaps always) powerful psychics, but these powers are usually limited to a specific area. For instance, one cerebrate may be able to create and reincarnate the powerful Torrasque,StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Enslavers bonus campaign, mission 3B: "The Final Blow" (in English). 1998.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: To Chain the Beast (in English). 1998. while another may be able to fill its structures with vital energy. Cerebrates possessed detection abilities similar to those of overlords.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Shadow Hunters (in English). 1998. As with the rest of the zerg, cerebrates communicated telepathically, albeit in a manner quite different to terrans or protoss. Reincarnation One trait that all cerebrates shared was that of reincarnation. While the Overmind was alive, it could reincarnate a cerebrate through the use of cosmic energy. Slaying a cerebrate with this type of energy prevented reincarnation. Zasz, cerebrate of the Garm Brood, was permanently killed in this way by Dark Prelate Zeratul. This created a brief mental link between Zeratul and the Overmind; Zeratul learned of the Overmind's connection with the xel'naga and its plans for the protoss race,Zeratul: "When I slew the Cerebrate on Char, I touched briefly with the essence of the Overmind. In that instant, my mind was filled with its thoughts, and I tell you now our worst fears have come true. The Zerg were indeed created by the ancient Xel'Naga, the same beings that empowered us in our infancy. But the Overmind grew beyond their constraints, and has at last come to finish the experiments they began so long ago." StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: Shadow Hunters (in English). 1998. while the Overmind learned the location of Aiur.Overmind: "Yet shall their overweening pride be their downfall. For when the assassin Zeratul murdered Zasz, his mind touched with mine, and all his secrets were made known to me. I have taken from his mind the secret location of Aiur, the Protoss Homeworld." StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: Eye for an Eye (in English). 1998. The Overmind went into silence following this, and did not recover until the zerg eradicated the Garm Brood.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Eye for an Eye (in English). 1998. Later, the protoss killed other cerebrates in deliberate attempts to "distract" the Overmind.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Shadow Hunters (in English). 1998. The psi disrupter possibly inhibited reincarnation. Although their link with the Overmind granted them virtual invulnerability, it was not without its weaknesses. Cerebrates were not designed to exist without the Overmind, and were unable to sustain themselves for long after its death – a vulnerability which drove them to create a new one following the first Overmind's death.Chris Metzen, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-03. SC:L Metzen Interview - Lore Exclusive. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18 Fate of the Cerebrates Following the death of the Overmind at the end of the Great War, Daggoth orchestrated the creation of a new Overmind from the fusion of a number of cerebrates. The Renegade Swarm controlled most of the zerg'Sarah Kerrigan:' "Apparently, many of the renegade Cerebrates, commanded by Daggoth, have merged into a new Overmind. Fortunately, the creature is still in its infant stages. It can't control the Swarm yet, but Daggoth and the others still have control over most of the Broods." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Quest for Uraj (in English). 1998. in opposition to Kerrigan.Kerrigan: Queen of Blades. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-10-13. This set the stage for the Brood War.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. (Blizzard Entertainment) (in English). November 30, 1998 In this conflict, Kerrigan emerged triumphant, albeit through manipulation of those capable of slaying cerebrates. Those on Shakuras were destroyed as the result of an alliance between her and the protoss settling on that world.Kerrigan: "I've insured the destruction of the renegade Cerebrates, and I used you to do it." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Insurgent (in English). 1998. The UED Expeditionary Force, while utilizing a psi disrupter, slew some cerebrates during their conquest of Char, the cerebrates not being resurrected during the battle. Later, during Kerrigan's reconquest of the planet, the new Overmind was slain by the Dark Templar allied with/manipulated by her.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: To Slay the Beast (in English). 1998. Upon the creature's death, the remaining cerebrates were killed'Samir Duran:' "My Queen, with the Overmind and its cerebrates destroyed, all of the Zerg in this sector have reverted to your direct control." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Reckoning (in English). 1998. by the Dark Templar.2008-03-10. Zerg. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-03-10. The lack of a controlling force was a partial explanation for their deaths. Some cerebrates survived the Char holocaust, at least for a time. The New Swarm led by Kaloth was one such example, but its power base was destroyed by Raynor's Raiders and protoss forces.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft 64. Nintendo of America, Inc. Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000-06-12. Kerrigan also retained at least one cerebrate which aided her in her infested terran project. Still, it wasn't to last. Following the Brood War, all the remaining cerebrates were hunted down and exterminated by Kerrigan's forces and to best knowledge, there are none left.Metzen, Chris; Chambers, Andy; StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-03. BlizzCon 2007 StarCraft Lore Panel Editorial. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18. Kerrigan's vision for the Swarm was quite different from that of the Overmind2011-05-31, May 2011 HoTS Fansite Interview. StarCraft Legacy, accessed on 2011-05-31 and she had no use or desire to use the cerebrates, not to mention the risk that they might once again try to form a new Overmind. Instead, she replaced them with other intelligent minions—an advanced infested terran, Ethan StewartGolden, Christie (November 27, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7126-8. (now deceased)Golden, Christie (June 30, 2009). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #3: Twilight. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7129-9., as well as broodmothers.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Rendezvous (in English). 2013-03-12. Known Cerebrates Some cerebrates were named, others weren't—only after extended service to the Swarm did cerebrates gain the right to a name. Possession of a name was seen as a sign of prestige. Named *Araq of the Jormungand Brood *Auza of the Incubus Brood/Atticus Carpenter of Carpenter's Brood *Daggoth, "Senior Cerebrate" of the Tiamat Brood and the leader of his own Swarm *Gorn, of the Baelrog Brood *Kagg of the Surtur Brood *Kaloth, leader of the New Swarm *Nargil of the Fenris Brood *Zargil of the Sennith Brood *Zasz of the Garm Brood Unnamed/Name Unknown *Unnamed cerebrate, created to achieve victory on Brontes IV *Unnamed cerebrate, created to watch over Sarah Kerrigan in her chrysalis *Unnamed cerebrate. Kerrigan seized control of the cerebrate by severing its ties to the Overmind. It acted as her lieutenant and commander for her Swarms during the Brood War. *Unnamed cerebrate, created to secure the Argus stone. *Unnamed cerebrate, aided in the assault on Aridas, and commanded from in a cavern near the frontlines. *Unnamed cerebrate, which possessed xel'naga technology, and used it to control a small protoss tribe, creating in that way a Fragile Alliance. *An unnamed cerebrate in charge of defending fringe hive clusters on Aridas. Was removed due to its failure. *An unnamed cerebrate in charge of the Grendel Brood was killed by Zeratul at about the same time Gorn was permanently killed. *Sometime after the Fall of Tarsonis, Alan Schezar gained control of another cerebrate, but it was killed.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Enslavers bonus campaign, mission 3B: "The Final Blow" (in English). 1998. *Early in the Brood War, the Dark Templar killed two cerebrates who had infested the ground of a xel'naga temple on Shakuras.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Legacy of the Xel'Naga (in English). 1998. *While the psi disrupter was active, the United Earth Directorate killed three cerebrates on Char. Notes The lack of cerebrates in StarCraft II was due to a creative directive from Blizzard, as per it "playing nice" with Games Workshop.2013, Zerg Queen Za Gara. Deviantart, accessed on 2013-12-25 As of BlizzCon 2019, the mandate remains in effect, and it has been stated that it is unlikely that cerebrates will be seen anytime soon, if ever.2019-11-07, Followup on the 14 page BlizzCon lore packet: The (very few) questions that got answered. Reddit, accessed on 2019-11-20 References es:Cerebrado Category:Swarm zerg breeds